Now she thought it was something else entirely.
“Gregory, how could we be so blind?”
His thoughts touched hers, reading what she’d been dwelling on. “It wasn’t blindness. In the Spirit Realm, the Avatar saw things differently. We knew of his love and loved him in return. Do you deny that the Avatar loved Naharnin?”
“No.” She sighed in frustration, though not at Gregory. It was at her own unsettled emotions. “But I’m only now realizing that he loved the Avatar in a much different way.”
“Yes. Like you, I was unaware of the depth of Naharnin’s...desires. He either hid them very well, or—and I think this more likely—the djinn has only recently realized his feelings.” Gregory paused, and she could feel him sorting through their many lifetimes of memories and experiences. “I think the events of our last life—when it became apparent to him that we might not always be around—frightened him into admitting his own feelings for the first time.”
“He tried to emulate us until he denied his own drives and needs, didn’t he?”
“I believe so.” There was another long pause, and then her Gargoyle Protector surprised her. “After this life is over and we are once again one being in the Spirit Realm, we will seek out Naharnin and face this new—or perhaps very old—development and find a solution that fulfills everyone’s needs. Perhaps the Divine Ones will create a mate for Naharnin if we ask them?”
Hmmm. A mate? Lillian dwelled on her beloved’s words even after he was gone. “Oh, you great clueless male, I think the Divine Ones have already selected a mate for poor Naharnin but said mate was too self-centered to look outside itself and too self-absorbed with its duties and responsibilities to the Divine Ones to notice that Naharnin might wish for something besides platonic companionship.
But her gargoyle was correct. Some things would have to wait until after this life was over, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to have a long chat with the djinn as soon as she rescued him and healed him from whatever the monstrous witch was working upon him.
LILLIAN EVENTUALLY found her elemental dragon son on a spit of land on the north end of the island.
“What seems to be the problem?” she asked with a chuckle.
Erika looked over her shoulder, looking tired and a bit defeated. “Gryton doesn’t like the dragon and the dragon doesn’t like Gryton. I can’t convince the dragon to shift back even though I explained we want to keep his presence a secret until we’re ready to fight the Lady of Battles.”
“You could have come to me for help.”
Erika lowered her voice. “He won’t let me leave his side any farther than to go pee behind some rocks if I’m lucky.”
Lillian looked up at the dragon. “And why haven’t you come to visit your mother instead of giving your poor Null a hard time?”
The dragon gave her a somewhat sheepish look but didn’t respond.
Private Emerson cleared her throat loudly and then elbowed the dragon in the shin. “The one thing both Gryton and the dragon agree on is that they distrust Lord Draydrak. I think that’s the real reason the dragon will not shift back.”
“Well, at least they agree on something.” Lillian arched her brows at the dragon. “While you are a very handsome fellow and magnificent to look upon, and I’m not just saying that because I’m your mother, Erika isn’t wrong. You need to—”
She’d been about to say surrender but caught herself, remembering how competitive the dragon was, and as much as the dragon side of her son’s nature didn’t like the more controlled and logical Gryton, the dragon was much like Gryton because they were two sides of the same being. Gryton never surrendered. And neither would the dragon.
After scrounging around for the correct wording, she smiled up at the dragon. “For our side to have a chance to win this coming war without massive bloodshed, we need a few surprises up our sleeves. And you, mighty dragon, are the greatest surprise. But we’ll only maintain that element if we can keep you a secret. As soon as you leave these waters, the Battle Goddess’s spies will be sure to discover you.”
The dragon snorted a sound of disdain.
“Think of the fear you’ll inspire in our enemies the first time they see you flying into battle with a Null of the First Wave riding on your back. More than a few of the Battle Goddess’s soldiers will surely run in terror. The chaos you create will be impressive.”
The dragon preened a little and then nuzzled Erika right off her feet.
While the human soldier was picking herself up off the damp sand and cursing most creatively about ‘damned fools’ and ‘little boys needing a good whoopin’ from their mama’ Lillian continued.
“But that delightful advantage will be ruined if they learn of your existence. The only way to cause the chaos of that vision is if you give Gryton control again for a time. Let him deal with the tedium of military staging and strategy and moving soldiers around like pieces on a chessboard. Then when it’s time to kill things, you take command, for you are less vulnerable than the two-legged version of my son. And I most certainly want you to survive the coming war.”
The dragon made a happy sort of rumble and then in the next moment, fire was bursting to life all along his scales. The human soldiers assigned to watch the dragon and Erika came to attention, their hands tightening on their weapons. But Erika gestured them back, and they eased a few steps away, though Lillian noted they wisely didn’t let their guard down.
The dragon was still far too volatile to trust.
But this time, the dragon had heeded her words, and as the fire shrunk down upon itself, the air soon grew cooler, and a naked Gryton was kneeling in the sand. Lillian looked out to the ocean to give her son a moment to compose himself.
“I swear the dragon leaves me naked intentionally.” The words were growled out as Gryton stood and walked into her peripheral vision.
Erika muttered under her breath about getting blinded by the moon and Lillian had to fight back a laugh at her son’s expense. Gryton’s fire magic flared. She gave him another moment before she faced him. He was once again covered in his scaled armor.
“Mother, you may have successfully bargained with the dragon this time, but you won’t always have something that appeals to the beast.”
“That is true.”
“It is dangerous. You can’t trust it. It is a deceptive creature,” he cautioned.
“Actually, you’re wrong. I have met few beings as honest as your dragon. He’s very clear about his dislikes.”
Gryton snorted. “Very well. You have me there. The beast will gladly tell you it means to destroy entire realms if it can manage the feat. You can’t trust it. If you know of some way to bind it so it can never break free again once we no longer need it, then you must tell me how.”
She pinned her son with a look and then turned and started to walk down the beach. Lillian waited until Gryton figured out he was supposed to follow before she continued. “Leashing the dragon is not an option. Put that out of your head now. And the dragon is not a separate beast. He is you. A part that you’ve long denied out of fear.”
Gryton snorted. “I’ve denied it so that it doesn’t destroy entire kingdoms.”
“I know. But I am here now and together with the Null’s help, you will learn to merge the dragon with this personality.”
“This personality is me.”
“I assure you; the dragon believes the same of himself. But you are both aspects of my son. And you are strong. You will master yourself and be whole. Then you’ll be truly formidable.”
“If the dragon doesn’t win,” Gryton muttered darkly.
Chapter 17
Lillian
GREGORY HADN’T YET returned from Haven, and Lillian found herself inside one of the humans’ mess tents that had been set up on a terrace on the north slope of the extinct volcano. The tent’s one wall was rolled up. Above them Draydrak’s temple sat pristine and majestic. The surrounding gardens had been trampled, but a few crushed flowers
would be the least of Draydrak’s worries if they didn’t win this war.
Lillian sat on a wooden plank that was propped up on two large buckets. Beside her on the impromptu bench, Gryton sat and nursed a cup of coffee. He didn’t like it, but it was hot, and he hated cold drinks.
It was one of the little things she’d learned about her son. And she was surprised how happy unearthing little tidbits like that made her. Though she knew not to show it. Gryton kept a shield around his emotions and didn’t want anyone getting in. Not even her.
Private Emerson sat on Gryton’s other side. Gran, Thayn, Major Resnick, and Sergeant Maracle sat on the opposite bench. Her son glowered at the three opposite him every other sip of his coffee.
Lillian took a drink from her cup to hide a smile and winced. “Goddess, this really is terrible stuff.”
“Coffee’s fine. You’re just used to Gran’s magic food,” Erika said from Gryton’s other side.
Everyone at the table turned to look at the Null.
Gryton’s head jerked up. “Magic food?”
“Magic what?” Resnick uttered just before he dropped his head into his hands. “I don’t want to be hearing about this now.”
Erika looked up with surprise. “You mean y’all didn’t know Gran spikes her food with magic?”
Gran looked equal parts unhappy and guilty. Lillian had only recently learned that her grandmother had been enchanting her food after she’d returned to Earth following Gryton’s rescue. Gregory, food-oriented creature that he was, had known Gran’s secret but hadn’t seen the need to put her on the spot and risk his favorite cook growing angry at him.
Which now left Lillian with the task of delicately explaining the situation to Major Resnick.
Thayn grunted, coming to Gran’s defense. “It’s just a little magical flavoring. Not much different than sprinkling herbs and spices on your food. It certainly isn’t any more harmful than what you humans normally eat.”
The major studied Thayn for a moment and then looked back at Lillian. “He’s telling the truth?”
“Yes and no. Yes, her magic infuses all her work. But as Thayn said, it mostly just enhances flavor.”
“Mostly?” Resnick was looking unhappier by the second.
“Sometimes she puts a little something extra in the food. It merely helps put people in a good mood and fosters cooperation.”
“She roofies the food?” Major Resnick stood up and held out a hand. “Stop talking. I don’t want to hear any more right now. We have enough problems to handle. I’ll wait to write this up after the war is over.” He paused and glowered at Gran. “Your word you won’t feed anything else to my men or any other humans?”
Gran nodded. “You have my word.”
“Good.” Resnick rose from the bench and started away. He glanced back and grumbled something unintelligible at Sergeant Maracle. The sergeant jumped up and was almost out of the tent when he doubled back and grabbed two handfuls of cookies from the table.
“Evidence?” Lillian asked. “Gran really wasn’t doing anything nefarious.”
“Hell no.” Maracle snorted. “These are for me.”
Then he was hurrying to catch up with Resnick. Erika was rising to follow and then paused when she noticed Gryton was still sitting on the bench. “You have to come with me, Hot Stuff. That’s the deal to keep you out of a cage.”
Gryton grunted but grabbed a selection of the food from Gran’s potluck.
“I’ll see you later,” Lillian called after Gryton and Erika.
He paused and looked over his shoulder at her. “Make sure you do. I don’t fancy having to be surrounded by humans for the rest of the day.”
Gran rose a short time later. “I should take something to Gregory to make sure he eats. A hungry gargoyle is a grumpy gargoyle.”
Thayn grinned and started to rise as well. “Let me help with carrying things for you.”
Lillian’s eyes narrowed. Thayn had been acting odd since he’d first arrived in the Mortal Realm. She’d thought things would return to normal once he was home, but that wasn’t the case. “Thayn, can you stay a moment. I’d like to discuss something with you.”
Thayn glanced at her and must have seen something on her face, for his expression turned serious. “Of course, Avatar.”
Gran gave them both long looks, but merely gathered up some items for Gregory and then headed off.
“What’s going on between you and Gran?”
Thayn’s ears tilted to the side, showing his embarrassment. “I was that obvious?”
“Yes. Though I don’t understand this sudden infatuation with Gran. Not that she isn’t a wonderful person, but you barely know her.”
“That’s just the thing. I do know her. I’ve known her for a very long time. She is Marnideen reborn.”
Lillian froze. Marnideen? Thayn’s long lost dryad mate?
As the Sorceress, she had known Thayn’s dryad mate across more than one lifetime. But to Thayn’s great sorrow Marnideen had been killed in a raid by their enemies. She’d died and made the journey to the Spirit Realm well over eight thousand years ago.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes. And it makes perfect sense. The Divine Ones needed a soul they knew they could trust to guide, protect, and raise you once you came to the Mortal Realm.”
“Oh, Thayn. I don’t know if I should be glad for you or grieve on your behalf. Gran is human with only a little faeblood in her background. She’ll live another hundred years at most.” Lillian’s throat tightened for him. The grief he would feel at her loss and separation would be terrible. And yet Thayn enjoyed life too much to seek to end his own.
“Be glad for I am reunited with my love at last.”
“But it will only be for a short time.”
“I would rather have these few short years than none at all.”
“Of course. And I am happy for you. I just wish there was a way to extend Gran’s life by means within the Light.”
Thayn cleared his throat. “I may have solved that.”
Lillian narrowed her eyes. “Does this have anything to do with that bet with Draydrak?”
“Yes.” He fell silent and looked at her expectantly. “Aren’t you going to ask me what I won?”
Lillian folded her hands and rested her chin upon them. “My dearest Thayn. I know you too well. I assume you extorted some promise to make Gran immortal.”
He huffed. “You make it sound far easier than it was.”
Lillian laughed and then stood and came up behind the oldest of the gargoyles. She hugged him, ending by placing a kiss on the top of his head. “I am happy for you and her. Just don’t turn her into some kind of deathless zombie. She’d never let you hear the end of it if you do.”
Thayn choked on his drink. Once he was finished sputtering, he looked over his shoulder and just shook his head. “Rest assured, it is nothing of darkness.”
Lillian started from the tent and then stopped. “And make sure Gran knows who and what you are and what you and Draydrak have concocted. Gran hates being kept out of the loop.”
“I know. I just haven’t come up with the right words to tell her.”
“It’s obvious she cares for you. Just go on and spit the words out. They’ll likely come as a relief. She is astute. She’ll have sensed something familiar about you. Your words will explain what she hasn’t been able to discover for herself.” Lillian paused. “And there are no guarantees in war. You should tell her soon.”
“I will.” Thayn no longer sounded hesitant. “I shall go now and seek her out and tell her the truth.”
Despite not knowing the future, Lillian couldn’t believe the Divine Ones had only brought them together again after all this time to break them apart so soon. She was grinning when she left the tent. Gran deserved happiness, and she could do much worse than Thayn. And her oldest gargoyle friend deserved happiness again at last as well.
Chapter 18
Erika
THE GATHERING AND TRA
NSPORTING of the Second Legion to Earth from Haven took a little over two days. They couldn’t send the entire two hundred thousand strong membership in one shot. The quantity of magic it would take to power such a massive portal spell would be noticed by their enemies.
So, the sixty thousand gargoyles and the one hundred and forty thousand dryads had to make the trip in much smaller numbers.
And while Erika thought that was an impressive number of gargoyles, she’d also learned from Gryton that the Battle Goddess’s army numbered around eight hundred thousand.
As Erika stood with Major Resnick’s team in the company of Thayn, Gran, and Jason, she watched the last group of gargoyles and dryads vanish through the portal spell with misgivings.
“As impressive as all those gargoyles are, unless I’m much worse at math than I think I am, we’re still badly outnumbered.” Erika hadn’t directed the question at anyone in particular but Adept Thayn leaned forward around Gryton to peer at her.
“It will be a fair fight. One gargoyle is worth any three of the Battle Goddess’s soldiers.”
“It depends on the soldier,” Gryton commented dryly. “But with the Battle Goddess, Blood Witch Taryin, and the oldest of the djinn versus the Avatars, Lord Death, and the Null and me, both sides are fairly evenly matched. It could easily be a blood bath that could end in yet another stalemate if not for the alliance my parents brokered with your kind.”
Major Resnick grunted. “Yeah. Remind me again why we’re lining up to get ass reamed?”
The major’s words were more a comment than a question, but after a pause, where Erika could almost feel Gryton working out the meaning of Resnick’s slang, he answered, his expression serious.
“Because the Battle Goddess already attempted to destroy your planet with my death. If my parents had not stopped her, your world would be cosmic dust. And if your kind pulls out of this alliance and the battle ends in a stalemate again, the Battle Goddess will one day seek to rebuild her army, and your world is not without its uses. She would loose her warriors upon your populous to feed and breed.”
The Complete Gargoyle and Sorceress Boxset (Books 1-9) Page 190